Today's passage deals with our journey of sanctification which starts with the necessity of sanctification and how it frees us from sin's control; the impossibility of sanctification here on earth and how we continue to struggle with sin; and ending with the certainty of our sanctification and our victory over sin.
The part that hit home the most is the middle one: our continuing struggle with sin and gaining the victory over our human sinful nature.
In his sermon The Responsibility of Justification: The Agony and the Ecstasy, Bob Deffinbaugh says....
Justification deals with the penalty of sin, but not its power...
just as the unbeliever cannot produce righteousness by his own works, neither can the Christian. The difference between the Christian and the unbeliever is that the Christian actually desires to please God, but is not able to do so, while the unbeliever could care less about obeying God...
What the Christian cannot do in his own strength, God does. The solution to Paul’s problem in Romans 7 is found once again, at the cross of Calvary, in the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf...
There is therefore “now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Being “in Christ” means that we are obligated to live our lives differently (Romans 6:1–7:6). We will often fail to do so, and in our own strength we will always fail do so. But being “in Christ” means we have no condemnation. The Christian will still sin; he will now (for the first time) struggle with sin, but he will not be condemned.
It is indeed good news to know that when we fail, as we surely will, that our sins will be forgiven. It is great news to know as well that God has provided the power necessary for the Christian to obey Him and to produce good works. The power to do this is provided through the ministry of the Holy Spirit:
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you (Romans 8:11).....
We have another comfort as well—the comfort of the character of God Himself. This is the final (and in many ways the ultimate) comfort for the Christian. It is the comfort of knowing that while we are fallen (albeit forgiven) creatures, living in a fallen world, we have a sovereign God whose plans and purposes will all be fulfilled. These plans have been formed in eternity past (“whom He foreknew,” 8:29) and they extend to eternity future (“these He also glorified,” 8:30). And these plans move on, from one stage to the next, without a hitch or a failure, and without the loss of any who are a part of that plan. All whom He foreknew, He predestined, and all He predestined, He called, and all He called, He justified, and all He justified, He glorified.
Do we live in a world which groans? Do we find ourselves fallible? We have every reason for confidence, for we are “sons of God.” His plans are not dependent on our perfection, our complete obedience, our sinlessness, to be realized. His plans include “all things,” including our collapses, including Satanic and demonic opposition (8:38), including every obstacle (8:38-39). God as easily uses opposition and failure to accomplish His purposes as He does our obedience. How, then, could we doubt the certainty of our sonship, and of all that God has purposed to accomplish? We can fail, but His purposes cannot. And since His purpose includes our glorification, we know that we shall experience “sonship” to the full, in His kingdom. (emphasis mine)
He also lists 3 things that are impossible....
(1) It is impossible to be saved and to continue to live in sin, as we formerly did.
(2) It is impossible to be saved or to live righteously in our own strength.
(3) It is impossible for the Christian, who will sin, to be condemned, to be separated from the love of God, or to thwart the plans and purposes of God. (emphasis mine)
And I love how Deffinbaugh ends off.....
Finally, I want you to notice the change in focus in these three chapters. The focus was initially on man. The focus was on the obligation of men to live differently than they did before they were justified. The focus was on the utter inability of man to keep God’s Law and to live a holy life, due to the strength of sin and the weakness of his flesh. There is little that can come from this focus except frustration and distress, which is exactly what we find in Romans 7. It is only when the focus shifts to God, to His love, to His sovereignty, to His faithfulness, that we move from agony to ecstasy.
Tomorrow's passage: Romans 8:18-10:21
2 comments:
And I LOVE how I get stuck with the sovereignty/election/predestination passage tomorrow!! :P
There's SO much here ~ so much crucial doctrine ~ and it's so hard to understand, but like with sin, it's our heart-attitude of wanting to go deeper with God that's really important.
ha ha! I love it! ;)
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